CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) – COVID-19 restrictions have not been a deterrent for Sunrise Mall shoppers during this holiday season. Like other shopping centers, the mall at Greenback Lane and Sunrise Boulevard has had to constantly adapt to county and state health guidelines, including the governor’s latest order as of December 10.

Sunrise MarketPlace Business Improvement District stated that the order is for at least three weeks: “The regional stay-at-home order will prohibit non-essential travel and activities except as necessary, close operations for certain industries and require masks and physical distancing in public.”

Sunrise Mall General Manager Natalie Worstein said, “The team will act in accordance with the procedures and protocols laid out by the Governor.”

“We are [still] working to bring the holiday spirit into the shopping experience. It is our goal to make the holiday season as “normal” as possible, while adhering to all CDC guidelines and regulations to ensure the health and safety of all our patrons during these uncertain times,” she said.

Worstein said that from a management perspective, Sunrise Mall is “working closely with Mason Asset Management and Namdar Realty Group by increasing our cleaning teams, promoting… safe social distanc[ing] and contactless visits for all customers.” Face coverings will continue to be required on the property.

The holiday season at Sunrise Mall is, of course, a time for plenty of shopping not generally done by large crowds throughout the year for adults and kids likewise. Go Games and Toys franchise manager Zee Malik of the Go! Retail Group said that earlier in the year, during the COVID-19 lockdown, “kids were getting really, really sad when they saw their stores closed. Like adults, they also have their preferred stores.”

Malik said, “Sales were not better than last year, but we are surviving.” He said that as far as paying the bills is concerned “most of those costs are paid at the corporate level; we just handle store functions here.”

Although corporations may front costs for these unexpected developments, they can only maintain shops in those circumstances for a limited time. The struggling Sunrise Mall has many vacant retail locations from corporations that decided over the years to ultimately shutdown, especially seen in its southern wing near the closed Sears.

Worstein said, “The holidays are an incredibly important time for our merchants at Sunrise Mall. Traditionally, the Black Friday to day-after-Christmas stretch is when many retailers do the most business.”

Sunrise Mall retailers such as Custom Designs, a custom T-shirt and cap store, Bath and Body Works, and Claire’s, a fashion boutique, saw a higher percentage of capacity in traffic during the Black Friday weekend with socially distancing lines as well.

Subjected to the same COVID-19 circumstances as other Sunrise MarketPlace shopping centers in Citrus Heights, Worstein believes it’s important to offer shoppers the in-person experience of local retail: “While the experience is slightly different [this year] and it's more of a challenge for us to anticipate what to expect,” supporting our local merchants and retail workers is necessary during this unprecedented lockdown.

The Sunrise MarketPlace Business Improvement District states that “Once the regional stay-at-home order is removed, counties will return to the Blueprint for a Safer Economy tier determined by their case rate/test positivity.”

                                                          

Sunrise Mall is located at 6041 Sunrise Mall – Citrus Heights, CA 95610 (916) 728-1916

For more information on the Sunrise Mall visit www.sunrisemallonline.com/

For more information on the Sunrise MarketPlace and Business Improvement District visit www.sunrisemarketplace.com/

For more information on the latest county order COVID-19 order visit www.saccounty.net/COVID-19/Pages/default.aspx